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The giant rubber duck that’s turning heads in Hong Kong harbor
DestinationsA six-story-high rubber duck is making a big splash in Hong Kong. Crowds watched the inflatable duck being pulled by tugboat across Victoria Harbor in front of Hong Kong’s signature skyscraper skyline. Tourist Zhang Wenjin from Shanghai says it’s a big surprise. “This is huge. My daughter liked it when she saw it just now. [...]
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Luxury brands take a page from casinos and cater to Chinese overseas
DestinationsWith flagging sales in their mainland stores and increasingly price savvy consumers, luxury companies are taking a leaf out of casinos’ play books by offering junkets to wealthy Chinese clients eager to splurge in their Hong Kong stores. For companies like PPR and LVMH, who have spent the past few years building stores across China, [...]
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Hong Kong Express pivots from full-service airline to low-cost carrier
TransportHong Kong Express Airways Ltd. plans to transform itself into a budget airline this year, joining the growing ranks of Asian carriers seeking to profit from the region’s boom in low-cost flights. The full-service carrier’s president, Yang Jianhong, told The Wall Street Journal it aims to unveil in late May the details of its plan [...]
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Theme parks in Asia experience sudden visitation boom
DestinationsAsia is becoming home to a growing number of major theme parks as the region’s wealth and leisure time grows. This is good news for families based in Asia who used to have to travel as far afield as Orlando to get their theme park fix. Now, the likes of Universal Studios, Disneyland and Legoland [...]
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Hong Kong’s high flyers not flying in business class as often
DestinationsA couple of years back, when London and Wall Street were suffering but China was growing, investment bankers in Hong Kong were raking in huge salaries and bonuses and enjoying perks such as first class business travel. Those days are over. Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, the airline of choice for bankers due to its well-established loyalty [...]
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Chinese tourists boost luxury retail sales in Hong Kong
DestinationsMainland tourists to Hong Kong rose about 33 percent at the start of this week’s Lunar New Year, providing a boost for the city’s retail sales and luxury companies such as Prada Spa. More than 381,000 tourists visited Hong Kong from mainland China during the first three days of the holiday, compared with about 287,000 [...]
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World’s first airport-only tour package takes you to four hubs in 48 hours
TransportA unique new holiday package has been launched that consists only of airports. Drawing on the array of attractions now present at many of the world’s major airports, the tour – a world first – lets passengers visit four such sites: Incheon International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Singapore Changi [...]
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Hong Kong’s tourism skyrockets thanks to exploding Chinese travel market
DestinationsThe Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced today that total visitor arrivals in 2012 reached 48,615,113, an increase of 16.0% over the 2011 yearly total. Out of the total arrivals, 48.9% or 23.77 million belonged to overnight visitors, 6.5% more than in 2011. Below are the full-year visitor arrivals for various market regions: 2012 vs [...]
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The next big spenders on luxury shopping: Chinese men
DestinationsLet’s hear it for the boys. China’s fashion-forward men are snapping up Gucci and Burberry bags, driving a rebound in the luxury market months after a slow down in spending by the world’s biggest luxury goods buyers spooked global investors. Men account for about 55 percent of China’s luxury goods market, well above the global [...]
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Hong Kong’s hospitality business booms from an influx of mainland Chinese tourists
DestinationsChina’s economic growth may be easing this year compared with 2011, but visits by mainlanders to Hong Kong are booming. The number of tourist arrivals in Hong Kong by mainland Chinese in November increased by 29.7% from a year earlier to 3.04 million, according to figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board out over the [...]
